CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The final match of the morning session ended, and players in carts navigated their way through parts of 40,000 spectators at Quail Hollow. The grandstand around the first tee already was filling an hour before the next session at the Presidents Cup.
Music was blaring, the crowd was chanting. The scene brought one phrase to mind.
Golf, but louder.
Really.
The slogan of LIV Golf comes naturally at the Presidents Cup, and it’s even louder at the Ryder Cup, where the heritage is deeper and the competition more intense.
Nothing brings out passion like team golf — once a year — even when the matches have been as one-sided as the Presidents Cup.
Peel away the history and other factors that make comparisons unreasonable, and the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup each have had the same number of events — five — that weren’t decided until the final hour, dating to 1995.
No one expected this Presidents Cup to be one of them. The Americans winning 17 1/2 to 12 1/2 was more about who they had than who the International team did not.
That didn’t stop unsolicited solutions at the start of the week on how to fix the Presidents Cup, and the chatter only increased after the Americans built an 8-2 lead after two sessions.
The short answer on what should be done? Nothing at worse, not much at best.
This was a stage for world-class golfers — 15 of the top 25 in the world were at Quail Hollow. On Friday, there were 67 birdies and three eagles from 10 players in five matches over 87 holes.
The entertainment was high. The enormous gallery was loud.
What can’t be changed is the volume, at least in America.
Think back to Ryder Cup at Medinah in 2012: The European fans were outnumbered, sure, but they had a voice. The International team has no fan base to travel, not with a team cobbled together from five continents outside Europe. Anytime a cheer resounded across Quail Hollow, it was obvious what it meant.
“It makes a difference,” said Paul Azinger, who has been…
Source : yahoo
